This year marks 25 years of democracy in South Africa. On 27 April 1994 the country held its first ever democratic elections, marking the formal end of apartheid -one of the 20th century’s greatest victories for human rights. This victory is celebrated each year on 27 April as ‘Freedom Day’.
Twenty-five years later how is the Rainbow Nation performing on human rights?
According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the civil and political rights situation in the country is rather strong. South Africa ranks first on ‘political participation’ and fourth on ‘civil rights and liberties’ out of 54 African countries. In general, South African politicians and civil society activists alike can organise and protest without fear. However, despite scoring well on the rule of law (ranking third on the continent), the personal safety of South African citizens is a great weakness (only seven African countries rank worse). Those familiar with South Africa’s persistently high rates of violent crime, and frequent instances of police brutality, will not be surprised by this finding.
According to the United Nations, the social and economic rights situation in the country is far more mixed. For example, South Africa experienced a small increase in life expectancy at birth between 1995 and 2017. This is notable as life expectancy plummeted in the period 1995-2005 due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, despite real progress, there is still much to do in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Moreover, other health indicators are poor, e.g. 27% of South African children under 5 are malnourished. Similarly, while it is positive that the average years spent in school has increased by almost a quarter since the end of apartheid, the quality of education in the country is so poor that it places in the bottom third of countries globally. Meanwhile unemployment is very high; more than half of all youths are unemployed. Many of South Africans who do have jobs do not enjoy their labour rights. Furthermore, income per capita has risen significantly over the past quarter century, but this masks huge income inequality.
The government led by President Cyril Ramaphosa must seriously listen to progressive voices in civil society if all South Africans, especially the most marginalised and vulnerable, are to enjoy a better future. Only then will the country be able to successfully tackle major challenges such as violence, poor quality public services, economic inequality and corruption.
In addition, South Africa can and should do far more to promote human rights in the entire Southern African region, where it is the biggest economy and has major political influence. ACTSA has been very disappointed over the years with the South African leadership’s failure to meaningfully support those struggling for freedom in countries such as Swaziland and Zimbabwe. We also note that former President Jacob Zuma’s decision to suspend the operations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal was ruled ‘unconstitutional, unlawful and irrational’ by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in December 2018. ACTSA believes that a revived SADC Tribunal can help to ensure accountability for human rights violations in the region.